Kiddie Korner is the second segment from the one hundred and fourteenth episode of Garfield and Friends.
Synopsis[]
Aloysius orders the farm animals to tell nursery rhymes. Every rhyme they tell turns out to have something inappropriate for the target demographic.
Plot[]
Orson tells the story of Dr. Zhivago, which he and his friends enact. Aloysius stops the cartoon and tells them that there have been complaints at the network. He then tells Orson that he wants him and the other farm animals to tell nursery rhymes, claiming it is a way to draw in a younger audience. Not wanting to lose their jobs, they give in and do nursery rhymes.
Firstly, they try telling the fable of Wee Willie Winky with Orson as Willie. Aloysius complains about the idea of wandering around the streets in pajamas.
Next, they try telling Georgie Porgie; when Roy kisses Lanolin to make her cry, Aloysius describes that as anti-social.
Next, they try Little Miss Muffet. Before Roy can finish the rhyme with the final line, Aloysius says a spider scaring a little girl would frighten the children watching and also comments that "sat on a tuffet" sounds naughty.
Next, they try Goosey Goosey Gander. However, the idea of shoving an old man down the stairs makes Aloysius unhappy.
Next, they try Old Mother Hubbard with Roy as the title character and Odie guest-starring as the dog in the fable. Aloysius is pleased with the performance (especially with the cameo guest star) until the parts where the dog starves and later dies, particularly with the staged death of a celebrity such as Odie.
Orson tries to find a wholesome nursery rhyme, none of which work out: Three Blind Mice for the barbarism of chopping off the tails of unsighted mice, Humpty Dumpty for the egg's demise and high levels of cholesterol, and Who Killed Cock Robin for obvious reasons. Roy then comments that this is their most violent episode they have ever done. Orson responds by saying that they cannot find a rhyme without any harsh or gruesome material. Aloysius warns him if he does not, he will replace their show with an infomercial on their time slot and suggests making one up themselves.
With their show in jeopardy, Orson resorts to the dirty tricks department and asks Roy to come up with one, much to the rooster's delight. He then places a new page in the book and comes to talk to Aloysius (who is programming the fall schedule with a dartboard) about it. He says he should read it, and Aloysius accepts it. It turns out the rhyme is about him being bossy and the farm animals getting back at him with lemon meringue pies. Lanolin, Wade, and Roy chase Aloysius out of the studio lot with their pies as Orson tells everyone that the next episode will be more wholesome while looking over what they can and cannot do then.
Characters[]
Main characters[]
Minor characters[]
- Booker
- Sheldon
- Odie
- Woman (voiced by Julie Payne)
Trivia[]
- The executive meddling in the episode alludes to then current instances where network executives kept trying to put in more educational segments on Saturday morning blocks.
- This is the last U.S Acres cartoon where Lanolin appears without Bo.
- Sheldon's wings were seen when he helps strike the set. It is revealed that he has white feathers.
- This episode is the last speaking appearance of Lanolin. She makes a final cameo appearance in "The Thing in the Box".
- The targets on Aloysius' dartboard has the following "business decisions".
- Renew old show
- More bears
- Power anything
- Buy new show
- Cancel Saturday
- Cancel everything
- This is the final episode to feature Aloysius. Prior to the seventh season's premiere, Mark Evanier mentioned on Usenet that he was meant to show up in an unproduced fourth episode.[Citation needed]
- This is the fourth and final time Odie makes a cameo appearance in a U.S Acres cartoon. The other times where he made a cameo appearance was in "Flop Goes the Weasel", "Quack to the Future" and in "The Ugly Duckling"
- When everyone puts up the Dr. Zhivago set, Sheldon's arms are seen coming out of his shell. He is shown to have white feathers white, likely to match his shell.
Goofs[]
- During the scene in which Aloysius is asked to sing a song, the book he reads from changes color multiple times.
- A split-screen frame after Odie "dies" during Old Mother Hubbard accidentally colors Aloysius' hat pink.
- When Aloysius says "More death, to say nothing of high cholesterol!", his nose resembles Orson's nose. His bow is also the wrong shape.
Cultural references[]
- Aloysius mentions Masterpiece Theater in reaction to the gang's performance of Dr. Zhivago.
- Orson alludes to Jack and Jill when he states that every nursery rhyme in the book has death and people "falling down and breaking their crowns".
Songs[]
- Wee Willie Winkie (sung by Wade)
- Georgie Porgie (sung by Orson)
- Little Miss Muffet (sung by Roy)
- Goosey Goosey Gander (sung by Lanolin)
- Old Mother Hubbard (sung by Orson)
- There Once Was A Pig Named Aloysius (sung by Aloysius)